check out this link.

at what point do consumers start to think that apple just updates their product lines way too frequently? i only have an iPod shuffle and i'm a bit annoyed by this. the rumor is that 2 and 4gb models of the shuffle will be released, but i really don't see the point. the smaller mini's have 4gb drives, but that makes sense when it has a proper display and menu system. the shuffle's just a simple stick that plays either a selected or random selection of tracks, nothing more nothing less. i've got the half-gig model, and in my experience i can fit about 90 tracks (~6.5 hours) on it, which are mostly 192kbps mp3s. i mean the shuffle is really meant for small trips or working out, why the hell would you need to put 50 hours of music on it?

i could have easily used a HD-based iPod if i hadn't preferred the features of the one i ended up buying instead, but i'd like to think i'd constantly be annoyed if i had an iPod and several times a year superior models were released.

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apple also released iTunes 4.9, now with podcasting [wiki] support. thus far i'm kinda ho-hum about the entire concept of podcasting, really. it's kind of a neat idea, but i think it's a little overhyped. the theory is that it's supposed to match other current tech trends, namely timeshifting, and fit into our "digital lifestyle." that's all well and good, but i still don't see the best application for podcasts, at least not in their current form. okay, so i can download some podcasts covering the latest world or tech news, or a certain guy's daily rants, so? in my personal daily life, i can really only listen to those at work, and i usually prefer not listening to spoken word type stuff while i'm bangin out line after line of code.

it would make a lot more sense to me if the vast majority of daily commuters took the train to work or something, but so far i see mp3 players in the car to be an entirely clunky process. until someone like apple puts more effort into getting easily portable music in & out of our cars, podcasts will probably go underutilized.

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i think podcasts fall into one of those internet-fad-of-the-year categories. in the late 90's it was the personal web page, then in the early 00's it was the blog, now we've moved on to podcasts, which are basically audio blogs. they're all essentially a way of trying to get our own opinions and interests into the public eye. i see the worth of all of them, i've had webpages since the 90's, lost interest because they were a dime a dozen, now i maintain a blog, and admittedly at times sure i lost a little interest. i don't have any interest in creating an audio feed to distribute to others. the problem is that too many other people do have an interest, which just makes for plenty of crap to wade through.

i guess time will tell if they're really useful enough for mass consumption or not. even big companies like ABC/ESPN are jumping on the bandwagon, so some quality content should be available. the funny thing is, the more popular this stuff gets, the less popular live radio seems. i'm all for anything that pushes old FM radio out of popularity.

anyway, enough of a post for now. just felt like a quick semi-rant.

--j